Renovation work exposed employees and others asbestos risk

Stonehouse Design and Build Limited of Plymouth has been ordered to pay nearly £15k in fines and prosecution costs following renovation work at a former hotel in Cornwall.

The company was converting the premises into apartments when asbestos was disturbed.

HSE was notified in confidence that the material was not being removed or disposed of safely and legally. HSE inspectors visted and halted work whilst the asbestos was removed under licensed conditions and the site decontaminated by a specialist team.

The most simple, but important advice is, if any worker or developer is not 100 per cent certain that there is no asbestos on site, then work should not begin before the facts are known. It is not worth the long-term risk.”